Paul’s prize pie puts pub on the map

A LAMB, cheese and apricot pie dreamed up by the Dog and Muffler's head chef Paul Cooke has taken third prize in a national competition.

Paul found the basic recipe for his pie in an old cookery book and made some adjustments to turn it into his prizewinning recipe.

He said: "I tweaked it a bit and added some apricots – you have to come up with a slight twist like that to make it original.

"I like the combination of the sweetness of the apricot with the sweetness of the lamb and it makes it a little bit different.

"I'm quite surprised we got as far as we did, but I'm really pleased the recipe is on the National Pie Week website."

Paul has been at the Joyford pub for 18 months. Before that he ran the café and shop at the Severn and Wye Smokery and was chef at the Wyndham Arms in Clearwell for 26 years.